Tire holder



May 12, .1925. 1,537,096 v P. C. THOMPSON TIRE HOLDER Filed A115-- 11, 1925 r .Il

1 iii Patented May 12, 1925. l

I 11,537,096 UNiTEDwsTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

PARKER c. THOMPSON, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNon To rHOMrsoN-NEAYLON MANUFACTURING'CO., OF CHICAGO,y ILLINOIs, A CORPORATION or IL'LiNOIsy TIRE .HOLDER v VApplication filed Augustv 11, 1923. Serial No. 656,768.

support a second spare tire in addition to.

onecarried bya tire holder made a perma` nent part ot the automobile. Their chief object is the provision of simple, cheap,A

strong and durable, and easily operable means tor strongly and securely carrying a second tire and tire rim by attachment to the relatively fixed rim. i

It is old and well known to provide three devices about one hundred and twenty degrecs apart attacliable to the relatively fixed riin carried on the permanent tire car rier for holding such an extra tire and rim. The present improvements relate'more parl ticularly to mechanical construction and ar rangement whereby the various objects are advantageously attained. In the accompanying drawings, which torin a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side view ot my (improved clamping device complete as applied to two spare tires rand their rims sectionally shown; F ig. 2 is a broken top view of the `construction of Fig. 1 with rim part tragmentarily shown; Fig. is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a small face view showing how the device is ordinarily used.

My improved structureincludes a rigid body which in my practice is formed from channel iron, as a forging and is therefore unusually strong. This body consists of two rim-carrying parts 11 and 12, the part 11 being adapted to accommodate the rela-4 tively iixed rimr18, which is to be understood as being rigidly carried by the permanent carrier on the automobile, and which permanent carrier may be ot any approved form. The body part 11 has its free end 14 formed to engage holdingly and for ready attachment and reiiiovability one side of the relatively fixed rim 13, and this part 14k will ordinarily take the form ot a simple hooklike member. Its construction may vary according to the particular type of rim to which is is intended to be applied.

The normally free end portion 12 of the ot' which the followingis al body extends in the same general direction as the bodyll and is provided at its tree end with an upturned part 15 adapted to form a stop to limit the movement yot the second rim 16 in a direction away trom the relatively fixed rim 13 when they lare side by side and "normally held by the device. The body is provided with a normally Outwardly-directed formation 17 (outwardly lwith respect to the axisof the rims) pio viding shoulders at 18 and 19 respectively adapted to cooperate in holding certain types of the rims and also making" for van advantageous arrangement ot clamping ele. ments. f

A clamping lever 20 has its main body part extending over and longitudinally with A bolt has a squared part at 24 which f intertits with a square liolein the clamping klever 2O and is preferably driven therein with a tight it so that when the bolt is moved the lever 2O will move also. The bolt extends transversely through the lever 20 and thev body at the part 17 andthe nut 25 is adapted to draw the body and the lever toward each other. The hole 22 into which the projection 21 extends is in the form of a vslot large and long enough to accommodatealso the bolt 23. This `slotted construction permits tree movement ot the bolt from one end of the slot to the other, whereby when the nut Q5 is sufiiciently retracted to permit the projection 21 to come out oi the slot 22 the lever and` bolt may be moved in a direction away from the rim 13 and the device may then be more readily hooked upon the rim 13 and swung substantially Thereupon the` into its desired position. clamping lever and bolt Q() are moved back toward the rim 13 whereby the slanting suii'a-ce 20 of the clamping lever comes into contact with the side of the rimy 13 opposite that side engaged by the holding ineens 14T. with the projection 21 again inserted in the slot 22 and against the end wall thereof, and thereupon the nut 25 can be tightened.

The construction is such that when the clamping lever 22 and the body part 17 are considerably spaced apart, but with the projection 21 against the end wall of the slot 22, the clamping device as a whole is held loosely upon the rim 13, and thereupon when the nut is tightened the body part 17 is drawn toward the lever 2O (the rim 13 being understood to be relatively fixed) and this threading action at once tightens the device as a whole upon the rim 13 and swings the end portion 12 of the body outward (away from the axis of the rim) with the result that the second rim 16 is held tightly when the device is normally used.

In using my improved device three separate and independent units such as shown by `Fig. 1 are ordinarily used. The practice o'f applying the second rim would ordinarily be to secure first one of the clamping devices to the relatively fixed rim at A, F ig. 4L, and then hang the second rim with its Ytire upon the outstanding free end .part 12, and thereupon apply another unit as at B and a third unit at C, and thereupon tighten all of theA clamping nuts 25. To remove the second tire the clamping` nut of any one or more ot the devices A, B and C, F ig. 4, may be retracted suliciently to permit the Jfree end or ends 12 to move inward, or toward the axis of the rim, sufficiently to permit the rim as 1G to be slid over the retaining stop or stops 15, whereupon the tire and rim may be lifted away.

I claim:

1. In a tire clamp device of the character described, the combination of a relatively long and narrow rigid body having an outstanding hook-like part at one end for holding engagement with a side of a relatively fixed tire rim and Jfor ready application to and releasemcnt therefrom, said body including a normally free-end part formed to accommodate a second tire rim and being formed to hold such second rim against a material amount of movement in a direction away from such relatively fixed rim when both rims are side b v side and held by said clamp device. a clamping lever fulcrumed on said body and overlying the normally outer surface of said body about midway oi its ends and'extending longitudinally with the body and having a free end portion normally adjacent to and adapted to engage the relatively fixed rim at the side thereof opposite the side engaged by said hook-like part'to bind the tire clamp as a whole upon the relatively fixed rim, and a bolt extending transversely through the body and said clamping lever and being positioned between the place where the clamping lever is fulcrumed and its free end for drawing the body toward said clamping lever for clamping the device upon the relatively fixed rim and for moving the free end portion of the body radially outward with respect to t-he axis of the second rim when normally held by the device.

2. In a tire clamp device of the characterl described, the combination of a relatively long and narrow rigid body having means at one end for engaging a side of, and holding it upon, a relatively fixed tire rim for ready application to and releaseme-nt therefrom, said body including a normally freeend part formed to accommodate a second tire rim and heilig formed to hold such second rim against a material amount of movement in a direction away from such relatively fixed rim when both rims are side by side and held by said clamp device, a substantially L-shaped clamping lever having a locking projection at one end adapted to enter an opening provided in the body, the clamping lever overlying said body normally in spaced relation thereto about midway of its ends and above the normally outer surface thereof and having a free end portion normally adjacent to and adapted to engage the relatively fixed rim opposite to the place where said first-mentioned means engage the fixed rim and to bind the tire clamp as a whole upon the relatively fixed rim, and screw means transverse of the body and of said clamping lever for drawing the body toward the clamping lever for rim-clamping action, the arrangement being such that when said screw means are retracted the Vfree end part of said body may be inclined inward with respect to the axis of said rims and when the screw means are tightened said free end part will be moved outward into holding engagement with said second rim and the relatively fixed rim will be tightly clamped by the device.

PARKER C. THOMPSON. 

